It is the nature of writing articles for magazines such as Cut Both Ways that there is a considerable delay between the writing and the reading. This is being written in those dog days between Christmas and the New Year. Usually, the newspapers are heavily padded with retrospectives of the old year and crystal ball gazing into the new year. Sadly, all is currently overshadowed by the appalling death toll and the human suffering caused by the underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The need to raise money to help with relief work will dominate hearts and minds for a very long time to come. In a sense, it puts all other forms of fund-raising into a stark new perspective.

However, the retrospection and the crystal ball gazing will continue. In 2005 the Trust will pass its 17th birthday which will bring its 20th anniversary into the very near future. When we started we set ourselves 20 years to bring the work to completion. It is one of these predictions which has haunted us as the years have passed. It was made in honesty but naivety. Every time I give any kind of interview or we make any public presentation everyone wants to know when we now anticipate completion. Our answers can only be of the kind which makes everyone smile when politicians fend off questions they don't wish to answer, or simply don't know how to. It is clear to us now that we have a very long haul ahead of us. This is very largely because we now have a much fuller understanding of what has to be done. It is vital that we meet this new understanding with confidence and renewed determination.

If we start with retrospection we have much of which we can be rightly proud. Not least of our achievements had been to gain recognition as a project which can, and certainly will, be completed. In the early days it was hard to get anyone in official capacities to take the Trust seriously. Now we can knock on doors and be confident that they will be opened and that those who sit at the desks behind them will talk to us. British Waterways, the Waterways Trust, IWAAC, the Government Office of the West Midlands and our four local authorities treats us with seriousness and respect. This may not often yield the practical and financial help we so urgently need but this is a vital building block in the slow advance towards completion.

I often think of the members of our board who served in those difficult days when we started and whom death has taken from us. This thought recurred when I recently heard of the passing of Edna Salmon who tirelessly supported Stan in all his work for the canals of the Midlands, not least L&H.

What the public sees, of course is different. Those who walk the section of the Hatherton from The Roman Way to Cats Bridge can see progress. The people of Lichfield who use the Darwin Walk or drive along the Tamworth Road can see the restored locks and the emerging canal bed. Drivers on the M6 Toll and the A5 can see the aqueduct, even if they do not always understand what it is. We can, and do, show visitors the many other things we have done. All are causes of pride and reasonable satisfaction but they are small steps on a very long road.

Predicting the future is a much less exact science. Despite all our achievements and the many successful initiatives on which we are currently working we must surely be thinking in decades rather than years when answering that most difficult question of "When will the canals be open?". The most recent British Waterways publication sees the Lichfield Canal completed by 2025 but this is an estimate and not a promise. What is increasingly clear is that the main onus lies on the Trust to push the restoration forward. We cannot, at least in the short to medium term, expect any other body to do this for us. This may well require us to look more strategically at our future. The climate for restoration is different from even five years ago and may well change again in the five years ahead

This magazine contains the summary of accounts for the year ending 31st December 2004 and notification of the Annual General Meeting at which they will be presented for approval. This is the time when directors retiring by rotation present themselves for re-election and the opportunity arises for the election of new directors. Not everyone feels sufficiently confident to present themselves for election but there are always ways in which those who want to become involved can make themselves known and make offers of help at whatever level they wish. The Trust always needs the skills and expertise of new members. We need enthusiasm but we also need the skills which people build up in their working lives and which they can then commit to the Trust. It is vital that we regenerate our board and the committees which support the Directors. If you can help us in any way please make yourself known.

There is much to which we can look forward in 2005. The rebuilding of Cappers Bridge should start in the early spring and we should have in our hands the Arup studies on the Hatherton. We hope to participate in another event at Huddlesford in association with Lichfield Cruising Club. We are making steady progress in identifying the packages of land which we can reasonably hope to acquire and, where funds permit, buying them. We will see practical restoration continuing at Tamworth Road, much accelerated by the volunteer groups which are part of "Dig Deep". The Marketing Group will continue to raise money and spread the news of L & H far and wide.

LICHFIELD LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Responses to the first stage of targeted consultations on the Lichfield Local Development Framework have been encouraging, with support for the Lichfield Canal restoration from BW, Lichfield City Council, Walsall Council, Chasewater Railway and others. Even the Environment Agency's usual comment about water resources was expressed in a more positive manner. The only negative was from Westbury Homes who do not want to make developer contributions.

Our own response welcomes the protected route and encourages a greater involvement of LDC in the restoration. However, we are very concerned about the proposed future extension of the Lichfield Southern Bypass from Birmingham Road to London Road which would severely impact on the essential diversion route for the canal. We suggested that the traffic need for this section of the road should be fundamentally re-assessed, the Housing Strategy site for 80 dwellings south of Wordsworth Close should be deleted, the so-called 'Area of Development Restraint' should be returned to Green Belt, and that any future proposals for development in this 'South Lichfield' area should be re-examined in a co-ordinated way along with the canal route so as to ensure a viable corridor and retention of an attractive environment for the canal.

There is to be a full public consultation on the revised LDF documents in February / March, and it would be most helpful if as many as possible of our members who live in Lichfield District could respond positively in support of our objectives. Comments from wider afield may also carry some weight, particularly from members who work in or visit Lichfield or would make use of the restored canal. The documents will be available on the www.lichfielddc.gov.uk website.

LICHFIELD SOUTHERN BYPASS
New road schemes are a recurring threat to our canal restorations (see 'Another M6Toll?' In CBW41) and the currently planned section of the Lichfield Southern Bypass between the Walsall Railway line and Birmingham Road is also a cause for concern. This is to be largely financed by the housing development off Chesterfield Road to which it provides access, and which in turn necessitates the canal diversion at Sandfields. We recently had a meeting with officers of Staffordshire County Council Highways about their plans and timescale, and pointed out that under the Government's Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, revised in 2001 as a result of our battles with the BNRR (M6 Toll), they were obliged to ensure that the necessary canal diversion route and bridges were included in the scheme. Surprisingly, they were not apparently aware of this, despite our many previous discussions, and we now await their revised proposals with interest.

BROWNHILLS BYPASS
Fortunately, Walsall Council are aware of their obligations and recognise the need to provide a replacement bridge for the Lichfield Canal on Barracks Lane as part of their recently revived proposals for a Brownhills Bypass. At a recent meeting and site visit with their consultants Faber Maunsell we were able to explain the 3 alignment options we had identified, the merits of changing the road alignment rather than the canal, and the importance of maintaining the canal's original levels, lock positions and side pound areas. It is helpful to be involved at this preliminary stage when we can influence the design, although it could be 5 years yet before construction begins.

May I Start by wishing all our members a very happy New Year for 2005 and hope it will be as successful as that of 2004.

Nina Dawes, Chief Executive of Lichfield District Council, draws the winners, assisted by Alan Parkes for his sponsored prize. (photos by Sue Williams)

Our grateful thanks to Pat and Terry for working so hard to produce a choice of three very tasty meals. Bob, Sue and Mavis did a sterling job manning the bar. Thanks to Trish for helping in the kitchen, also to David for helping set up the hall. The evening went with a swing. Music was provided by Rannygazoo. Despite fierce competition from lots of bonfire parties we still managed a profit of £616.

Brownhills Christmas Fair December Sunday 5th. I think everyone must have completed their Christmas shopping by the time they got to the fair. Even though we had some nice bargains on sale, business was slow. Total raised £117.50. Thanks to all our helpers, Terry Brown, Jean Handley, Barry Kenn and Trish Humphries.

This report covers the quarter October to December 2004, during which time the main media interest has been in the Huddlesford Gathering. Firstly, however, the advance publicity continued in September with the Express & Star reporting the last ever canalside performance by Day-Star in "Final canal show from group is set for festival", and later on "Historic narrowboat gathering on canal". Meanwhile, the Cannock & Lichfield Chronicle had "Signs point way to feast of festival fun" followed by "Day of fun down by the canal". Not to be outdone, the Mercury included pictures of the steamer President and of a London WRG work party with a plea for more volunteer help in their report of "A festival of fun down on the canal".

Reports of the event itself were many, and fulsome in their praises. The Express & Star had "Historic delights on canal" with 3 colour pictures including one of Rob Davies looking resplendent in 18th century dress in the guise of James Brindley. The Post headlined "Post at Celebr18th - Canal's historic day" with pictures of the boats and the signpost ceremony, whilst other editions featured Michael Fabricant in "Canal fingerpost unveiled". The Mercury, however, in its "Wat-er way to mark occasion" pictured the wrong trousers, sorry - sign post; the one at Huddlesford Junction, rather than the one pointing there!

Turning to magazines; December's Waterways World had a report and picture of "New fingerpost unveiled" and the letters pages had a view of steamers Monarch and President together at the junction, whilst their "10 years ago" retrospective reminded us that in December 1994 the Trust was due to present its case to the BNRR public inquiry. Publications with a more limited distribution include Lichfield Cruising Club's The Knot which had a good selection of photos with its report, and Towpath Talk which carried a report on "Huddlesford Junction Gathering" with another signpost picture. The HNBOC Newsletter naturally concentrated its account of "the Huddlesford Gathering" on the historic boats present, whilst IWA West Midland Region's Navigation had a report with several colour pictures. Finally, for those who eschew paper, the website waterscape.com was one of the first off the mark with "huddled together to celebrate 200 years".

But enough of Huddlesford for now; there have been some other events. For example, The Post presaged the "Barn Dance", and Canal & Riverboat for November recorded "Planning for bridge granted", about Cappers Bridge. The same month Canal Boat & Inland Waterways in its pages on the IWA National Festival pictured our marketing display with Michael Brown holding the canal Boat trophy for the best non-commercial stand. However, an article in the same edition on TWT's appointment of Timothy West as Vice-President apparently also recruited him to support us! In November, the Express & Star picked up on my comments in CBW41 about the new M6 proposals as "Threat of toll road to canals". In December, the previously mentioned Towpath Talk reported the continuation of the "Exhibition on the restoration of the Lichfield Canal at Lichfield Heritage Centre", and the January Canal Boat briefly stated that work on Cappers Lane Bridge was expected to start in February.